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Surge Training

WSVN — For Miguel and Krystie sloshing through the mud and free-falling is considered fun. The two love taking part in obstacle races together. “I’ve always been an athletic person, into sports and working out.”

But Krystie a student at FIU admits it’s not always easy finding time in her busy day to exercise.

Krystie Poveda: “With classes and work and working out it’s a challenge.”

Same for Miguel a paramedic who needs to be strong on the job.

Miguel Orejuela: “It’s a great benefit for me to stay in shape because you never know what call you might have, where you will need your strength.”

That’s when the two heard about something called surge training.

Rob Herzog: “It’s very very short bursts of exercise at the highest intensity you can do with very little or no rest.”

Rob Herzog the director of fitness for the Memorial Healthcare System explains how it works.

Rob Herzog: “If you were on a treadmill, bike or elliptical, it would be the fastest you could make that thing move. So if you run on a treadmill for instance for 30 seconds, you may then turn it down and walk for 30 seconds before you run again.”

So how do these short bursts of energy followed by periods of rest or slower movement help your body? Rob says surge training causes a release of hormones and speeds up your metabolism.

Rob Herzog: “All of those things combined will help burn fat, it extends the effects of exercise over a period time after exercise.”

And the best part is instead of working out for an hour or more every day, the entire program can be done in as little as 12 minutes, three times a week.

Rob Herzog: “Basically, what it does is it really puts your body into hyper drive and home of the benefits that you see in long term exercise happen pretty quickly.”

Krystie likes to do her surge training on the bike, but warns it’s not easy.

Krystie Poveda: “I find that by halfway through I’m almost depleted.”

After doing it for a month she’s noticed a big difference.

Krystie Poveda: “I don’t find myself as hungry. My metabolism is much better. I’ve lost a few pounds.”

Miguel likes the fact you can do surge training with just about any form of exercise.

Miguel Orejuela: “High endurance, then you take a little break and then high endurance again, which is great for the heart rate and then it settles down.”

He says it’s giving him that boost he needs during races.

Miguel Orejuela: “So you’re just pushing and pushing yourself so you have the extra step.”

Rob says even if you’re not in great shape like these two, anyone can benefit from surge training.

Rob Herzog: “Most importantly for most people it’s the convenient thing they can do it in a very short period of time.”

But Rob says don’t jump into it right away. Make sure you work with a personal trainer to learn proper technique and work at your own pace.